Those who patronize beauty salons are familiar with the sink used to wash and rinse clients' hair. The client, seated in a chair with their back to the sink, leans backward and rests their head and neck on an unpadded cutout in the sink during the hair washing and rinsing process. While such a position does work, it puts the client at an uncomfortable angle and places a great deal of pressure on the head and neck area, which sometimes results in pain and tension that last even after the client has left the salon. Should a padded towel be placed as a pillow, it quickly becomes soaked and does not easily adjust for various client sizes. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which beauticians can provide their client with comfortable, customized support of their heads and necks while they are seated at the sink without the disadvantages described above.
Several attempts have been made in the past to assist beauticians providing for the comfort of their clients while they are having their hair washed and/or rinsed at a sink. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,303 issued in the name of Smithers provides for a “U”-shaped head support for a salon basin with a perforated headrest plate for permitting the passage of water. The Smithers device supports the entire head during the act of washing a user's hair and extends into the bowl of the sink and therefore does not fall under the scope of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,711 issued in the name of Tafur describes a headrest for shampoo bowls and sinks comprising a flexible elongate strip of open-mesh netting supported on opposing side walls of a hair salon sink. The present invention differs from the Tarfur device in that it is shaped to effectively drape over the head rest area of a sink and conforms to the user's head and neck region.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,239 issued in the name of Eckelbarger discloses a head and neck-supporting device for salon basins. The Eckelbarger patent merely: props the neck up so that the hair can be substantially accessible for hair washing and does not provide a comfortable means for a user to rest their head and neck within the head receiving portion of a conventional hair salon sink.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,145 issued in the name of Najar describes an anatomically correct neck and head support for utilization in conjunction with hair treatment. The Najar device does not provide for interconnecting multiple units together.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,980 issued in the name of Flora describes a neck-cushioning device. The Flora device suffers from the same setbacks as the Najar patents in that there are no means to interconnect multiple pads together. Also, the present invention covers the entire head and neck receiving area to prevent unintended injury if the user moves during the act of washing hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,338 issued in the name of Kirsch refers to a neck pad for beauticians' sinks. The Kirsch invention comprises a single neck pad unit for the hair salon sink and does not provide means to interconnect multiple units to provide vertical adjustment and is not sufficiently thick enough to provide a comfortable support for one's head and neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,507 issued in the name of Watson discloses a head cradle for use in hair salons comprising a neck brace that is pivotally mounted to the hair wash basin. The present invention is a conformable and comfortable padded head and neck support that is releasably attachable to the sink and therefore differs from the Watson invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,176 issued in the name of Najar provides for a neck support cushion for use in treating hair. The Najar device comprises a light weight foam or other resilient material which is washable and sanitizable, but does not provide means to interconnect multiple units together to provide a vertical adjustment.
Accordingly, one of the prior art particularly describes a comfortable means and method for supporting a user's head and neck during the act of washing the user's hair in a conventional hair salon sink.